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December 26, 2012

PIMCO’s El-Erian to Assist Obama Administration

Bond chief will continue in his leadership role at PIMCO

PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian (Photo: AP)

PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian has been named chairman of President Obama's Global Development Council, and will help the administration in its efforts to increase global development.

El-Erian, 54, is also the bond giant's co-chief investment officer, along with founder and chairman Bill Gross. El-Erian will continue in his current role at PIMCO.

This isn’t his first foray into public service. He spent 15 years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C.

He first joined PIMCO in 1999 and was a senior member of PIMCO's portfolio management and investment strategy group. Before joining PIMCO, El-Erian was a managing director at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London.

The White House also announced eight other appointments to the council:

Richard C. Blum, chairman of Blum Capital Partners;

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Walmart Foundation;

Esther Duflo, economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

Sarah Beardsley Degnan Kambou, president of the International Center for Research on Women;

James M. Manyika, director of the McKinsey Global Institute and a senior partner at McKinsey & Company;

William K. Reilly, senior Adviser to TPG;

Steven Schwager, retired CEO of the American Joint Distribution Committee;

Smita Singh, former director of the global development program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

President Obama said, “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”